Israeli soldiers kill al-Aqsa member

A teenage Palestinian fighter has been killed in a clash with Israeli soldiers in the Nablus region of the West Bank, Palestinian security sources and witnesses say.

07 Jul 2005 05:33 GMT

A clash broke out near the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank

On Thursday, Khalid Musseimi, 17, was shot in the chest during a clash between Palestinians and Israeli troops accompanying Jewish settlers who had gone to pray at a controversial site near Balata refugee camp, Palestinian security sources said.

Musseimi, an al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades member linked to the mainstream Fatah movement, was sought by the Israeli army.

Another activist was wounded in the clash.

An Israeli occupation army spokesman confirmed that two armed Palestinians who approached a bus carrying a group of Jews going to pray at Joseph's Tomb had been hit in an exchange of fire.

Controversial site

Traditionally believed to be the site of the biblical figure Joseph, the tomb was captured along with land seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

The tomb, a site of violence and controversy, was turned over to the Palestinians in 2000, but Israel accused Palestinian mobs of desecrating the tomb after that.

Thursday's death raises the toll since the September 2000 start of the Palestinian intifada to 3710 Palestinians and 992 Israelis, according to an AFP count.